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Winner of the Best of Utah - Best
Masala Award: April 2009
Thursday, February 26,2009
Word of Mouth: February 26th
By City Weekly Readers
City Weekly reader and food fanatic Jason Shearer says, “I’m
writing to recommend the new Taste of India (1664 N. Woodland
Park Drive) restaurant in Layton. Also, Pad Thai (1986 N. Hill
Field Road, No. 8, Layton) is probably the best Thai restaurant
in the state. In the military, I sampled Asian fare across Asia
before returning to Utah. Imagine my delight to find that Utah’s
Asian food scene has been growing exponentially in my absence.
I’ve eaten what I consider to be above-average dishes at several
Indian restaurants here, but the new Taste of India is far
superior to any of the other efforts. Both their lamb korma and
their tandoori are far more flavorful than any I’ve tried
before.
The saag paneer is absolutely fantastic. And every dessert that
they offer is a home run in and of itself. I am concerned that
the prices are a little high and the portions a little small.
But if you’re paying for quality, you’re getting every penny’s
worth.”
Wednesday, March 11,2009
India Fusion & Taste of India
Currying Flavor: Sampling curries, korma and more, from Jordan
Landing to landing in Layton
With more than two dozen Indian restaurants along the Wasatch
Front to choose from already, why would anyone consider opening
up a new one? One answer is that we Utahns are going the way of
Londoners, whose city now boasts more Indian takeaways than
fish-and-chip shops. If you build a tandoor, we will come. And
as is the case with pizza and sushi, we just can’t seem to get
enough curry. As far as I’m concerned, the more the merrier! So
let’s add a couple more spicy eateries to the inventory: India
Fusion and Taste of India.
India Fusion at Jordan Landing might, at first look, more
properly be called India Confusion. It’s certainly unique: the
only Indian restaurant I’ve ever encountered with chicken
fingers, macaroni and cheese, mozzarella sticks, jalapeño
poppers and French fries on the menu next to saag paneer, shrimp
vindaloo and chicken korma. But, remember, this is West Jordan;
it might not be a dumb idea to hedge one’s bets and assume that
not everyone at an India Fusion table is going to be interested
in Northern Indian cuisine, which is the chef’s specialty.
So, why not put pasta with Alfredo sauce ($7.95) on the menu,
just in case? I’m told that Northern Indian cuisine features
gravies that are thicker and somewhat richer than down south,
typically incorporating dairy products such as milk, cream,
yogurt, ghee and paneer (sort of an Indian cottage cheese). But
I didn’t really find that to be the case at India Fusion, which
offers up pretty much the typical array of pan-Indian dishes,
from chicken biryani ($11.95) and boti masala ($13.95) to
mushroom mattar ($9.95) and, yes, creamy Northern-style chicken
korma ($11.95). The latter, however, typically has subtle
coconut-cream notes, which seemed to be missing in India
Fusion’s preparation. A much more pleasing poultry dish is murg
mussallum ($10.95), which is tender and boneless chicken chunks
prepared Mughlai-style in a sexily-spiced curry redolent of
ginger, onions and garlic. It tastes terrific washed down with a
big (22 oz.) Taj Mahal lager.
I found the tandoor-roasted chicken murg ($12.95) at India
Fusion more tender and juicy than at most Indian restaurants,
where it tends to be cooked to death and so often winds up dry
and stringy.
Although, like much tandoori chicken, it was also a bit bland—a
problem easily remedied with the incendiary green chili sauce,
just one of the standard components of the $8.99 lunch buffet at
Indian Fusion. The lunch buffet regularly features curries like
chicken tikka masala and vegetarian navaratan korma, along with
raita, kheer, chana dal, nicely charred naan, aloo papri chat
and, of course, basmati rice, which seemed a little heavier and
more starchy here than normal. For your entertainment dollar,
there’s also belly dancing at India Fusion on Friday and
Saturday evenings.
When I asked Taste of India owner and Punjab native P.J. Singh
how he settled upon Layton as the site of his new restaurant, he
told me he took the advice of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., whose
daughter Asha was adopted from India. Huntsman—who is quite
knowledgeable about both Chinese and Indian cuisines—mentioned
to Singh that there were oodles of Indian restaurants in the
Salt Lake Valley, but a dearth of them farther north. So, Singh
and his brother Johnny opened Taste of India in Layton, and
business has been thriving since they opened a mere month ago. I
can see why. I’ve eaten in a lot of Indian restaurants—including
my training ground in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens
in New York City—and I’ve never had Indian food that to my
palate is better than Taste of India’s. If you live in Davis
County, consider yourself lucky. If not, it’s time for a road
trip. Despite the fact that I ordered it “very hot” and it
almost knocked the enamel off my incisors, the chicken tikka
masala ($13.99) at Taste of India was simply superb. I noticed
right off the bat that the Indian sauces and gravies were more
complex than any I’d previously tasted.
And according to P.J. Singh, that’s because they cook their
master sauces very slowly, allowing the spices, herbs, onions
and other ingredients to mingle and for the oil to separate from
the sauce before adding proteins like chicken, shrimp, lamb or
veggies. The result is magnificent.
Even a simple dish like daal makhani ($9.99) at Taste of India
is something extraordinary. Makhani means “with butter,” and so
this vegetarian dish of red kidney beans and black lentils
combines subtle butter notes with ginger, garlic, tomato and
onions—all coalescing to make a rich, creamy sauce that’ll make
you want to lick the bowl. Since great care and finesse is put
into every Taste of India dish, you won’t find the standard
lunch buffet. However, to sample a range of what this wonderful
restaurant has to offer, I recommend the Thali lunch special
($9.99): two entrees served on large silver platters with raita,
kheer, rice and naan. Something else you won’t find at Taste of
India: gaudy Ganesh elephants or Taj Mahal posters. Round out
your meal with homemade mango ice cream ($2.99) or gulab jamun,
and it’ll be a long while before you wipe the grin off your
face.
TASTE OF INDIA
1664 N. Woodland Park Drive
Layton
801-614-0107
Wednesday, March 18,2009
Taste of India
By Ted Scheffler
I’ve eaten in a lot of Indian restaurants—including my training
ground in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens in New York
City—and I’ve never had Indian food that to my palate is any
better than Taste of India’s. Chicken tikka masala at Taste of
India was simply superb. I noticed right off the bat that the
Indian sauces and gravies were more complex than any I’d
previously tasted. Even a simple dish like daal makhani at Taste
of India is something extraordinary. Makhani means “with
butter,” and so this vegetarian dish of red kidney beans and
black lentils combines subtle butter notes with ginger, garlic,
tomato and onions—all coalescing to make a rich, creamy sauce
that’ll make you want to lick the bowl. Reviewed March 12. 1664
N. Woodland Park Drive, Layton, Utah
